Envelope printing machine and multicolored printing attachment therefor



E. C. SAUERMAN ENVELOPE PRINTING July 28, 1959 2,896,536

MACHINE AND MULTICOLORED PRINTING ATTACHMENT THEREFOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 15, 1955 5* a jlfinior: Ernst C S auerman July 28, 1959 SAUERMAN 2,896,536

ENVELOPE PRINTING MACHINE AND MULTICOLORED PRINTING ATTACHMENT THEREFOR Fil'ed June 15; 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 lin/ntor: -3 7 725! 6: S auerman a ar y, fimrw f /06M wa July 28, 1959 SAUERMAN 2,896,536

' ENVELOPE PRINTING MACHINE AND MULTICOLORED PRINTING ATTACHMENT THEREFOR Fi led Jude 15, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 JOHN DOE 8-COMPANY I23 MAIN N CHICAGO, ILLINOIS www 03 ILL- ' fiY/ n for; j Ernst C. Sauerman J 9 flmma ymm United State ENVELOPE PRINTING MACHINE AND MULTICOLORED PRINTING ATTACH- MENT THEREFOR This invention relates to improvements in a machine for printing in multicolors, and refers particularly to an attachment for a conventional machine for printing in mono-color upon envelopes whereby the envelopes may be printed in multicolor.

In some multicolor printing presses a plurality of printing rolls are disposed in orbital relationship to a single make-up roll and with each revolution of the make-up roll each of the printing rolls makes one revolution, that is, the angular velocities of all of the rolls are equal. Inasmuch as the angular velocities of all of the rolls are equal, their effective diameters must be the same since their peripheral speedsmust necessarily be the same.

In many printing operations, the printing plate carried by the printing roll occupies only a relatively small area of the printing cylinder. For instance, in envelope printing, the area of the envelope blank which is printed may be relatively small whereas the envelope blank itself may be relatively large. Yet in some instances, it may be desired to print over relatively large areas of the blank. Hence, in conventional envelope printing machines the printing roll is relatively large in diameter and is equal in diameter, effectively, to the diameter of the make up roll. To adapt present practices to secure multicolor printing, a second relatively large printing roll would be used. However, this would add excessive size to the printing machine and to add the second printing roll to a conventional machine would be impractical in the form of an attachment which at times may be used and at other times would be rendered inoperative.

The present invention is directed particularly to a multicolor printing arrangement wherein the added color or colors may be applied by a relatively small printing roll or rolls and which is of such nature that it may be employed as an attachment to conventional mono-color printing machines and is of such size that it may be moved to an operative or inoperative position at will.

The objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and following detailed description.

Fig. 1 is a sectional view, partially diagrammatic, of an embodiment of the present invention employed as an attachment to a conventional envelope printing ma chine.

Fig. 2 is a plan sectional view taken on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detailed sectional view taken on line 3--3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a front face view of an envelope painted in two colors.

Referring in detail to the drawings, 1, 1 indicate side frame members of a conventional envelope printing machine for printing in mono-color. The frames 1, I carry opposite bearings 2 in which the end portions of a shaft 3 are journaled. A shaft 4 is journaled at its end portions in bearings (not shown) carried by the side atent frame members 1, 1, said bearings being: similar to the bearings 2. I

A gear 5 is carried by shaft 3 adjacent one end of said shaft which meshes with gear 6 carried upon shaft 4. Gears 5 and 6 have equal pitch diameters and, hence, when driven by suitable means (not shown) the angular velocities of shafts 3 and 4 are the same.

A primary printing roll 7 is rigidly mounted upon shaft 4 and carries on its surface a printing plate 8. A mutilated make-up roll 9 is mounted upon shaft 3 beneath roll 7, said make-up roll comprising circular end plates 10 and a substantially semi-cyclindrical portion 11, the latter portion extending between the end plates 10. The outer cylindrical surface ,of the portion ll is adapted to carry conventional make-ready sheets which are mounted upon the surface by conventional straps 12 at each end portion of the roll.

A conventional conveyor chain 13 is trained around sprocket wheel 14 adjacent the periphery of the cylinder 9, said chain carrying spaced lugs 15 whereby envelope blanks 16 carried upon the upper pass of chain conveyor 13 are fed toward the nip of rolls 7 and 9. Roll 9 carries a plurality of gripping fingers 17 which are mounted upon rod 18. Rod 18 is periodically rocked by cam means (not shown) to cause said fingers to grip the advancing edge of envelope blanks 16 and carry said blanks upon 'the outer surface of the semi-cyclindrical portion 11 of roll 9. The movement of the rod 18 is in timed relationship with the rotation of roll 9 which, in turn, is timed with the movement of a conveyor chain 13 whereby as blanks 16 are fed forwardly by the conveyor they are gripped by the fingers 17.

An ink fountain 19 is carried by the frame members 1, 1 and comprises a fountain roll 20 and doctor blade 21, the fountain thus formed being adapted to carry a body of ink 22. A distributing roll 23 is disposed in osculating relationship to fountain roll 20 whereby ink is transferred to the surface of roll 23 when said rolls rotate. A transfer roll 24 is journaled upon arms 25, which, in turn, are carried upon shaft 26. Shaft 26 is adapted to oscillate and, hence, the transfer roll 24 moves between the positions shown in full and broken lines in Fig. 1. An axially reciprocating distributing roll 2'7 is journaled adjacent roll 24 and is adapted to have its surface contacted by roll 24 when the latter moves to its full line position, as shown in Fig. 1. Thus, ink carried on the surface of roll 23 is periodically transferred to,

roll 24 which, in turn, periodically transfers the ink to the surface of the reciprocating roll 27. The surface of roll 27 is in contact with the surfaces of form rolls 28 whereby ink from roll 27 is transferred in the form of a uniform film to the surfaces of said form rolls. The surfaces of form rolls 28 are tangent to the trace of printing plate 8 and hence when said printing plate contacts the form rolls a uniform film of ink is deposited upon the printing surface of plate 8.

The inking rolls, herebefore described, are driven by suitable means (not shown) in timed relationship to the rolls 7 and 9 and an envelope blank 16 passes through the nip of rolls '7 and 9 during each revolution of said rolls, the freshly irked printing plate 8 making printing contact with the blank 16 while it is carried on the surface of the cylindrical portion 11 of the makeup roll 9.

The apparatus thus far described is conventional and compromises the usual printing machine employed in printing in mono-color upon envelopes. For instance, the ink 22 may be black ink and the printing plate, inked with black ink, may be adapted to print return address 29 on the face of envelope 16, corresponding to an envelope blank 16.

In printing envelopes which may be employed in mailing advertising matter, it is frequently desirable to print on other portions of the envelope, either upon the rear or face thereof, and in many instances it is desirable to print thereon in a color which is different from, for Instance, the color .of the returnaddress 29. In Fig. 4, additional printing 30 is shown wherein the printed matter may be printed inred, yellow, blue or any desired color different from the color of the return address 29. To accomplish the last mentioned printing operation, the following described apparatus may be employed.

A supporting frame plate 31 is secured, by bolts 32, or the like, to the outer face of one of the side frame members 1. A similar supporting frame plate 33 may be secured, by bolts 34, to the inner face of the opposite side frame member 1. A transverse bar 35 is adapted to be carried by the opposite frame plates 31 and 33, being pivotally secured to the plate 33 by a pivot pin 36. The opposite end portion of bar 35 is provided with an open slot 37 which permits removable engagement of, the end of bar 35 with a clamping screw 33. The clamping screw 38 is threadedly positioned in plate 31 and carries an enlarged head 39 which may be moved into abutting relationship with bar 35 when the screw 38 is rotated. To facilitate rotation of the screw 38 a handle 45 is carried by the head 39.

In this fashion bar 35 may be disposed in firmly clamped relationship upon the plates 31 and 33 whereby said bar is positioned in substantially spaced parallel relationship to rolls 7 and 9. If desired, screw 38 may be loosened to permit disengagement of bar 35 from plate 31 whereby said bar may be swung about pivot 36 to the position shown in broken lines in Fig. 2.

A pair of arms 41 are mounted in spaced relationship to each other upon bar 35, said arms being disposed transversely with respect to said bar. The end portions of the arms 41 carry bearings 42 in which a shaft 43 is journaled. Collars 44 are positioned upon opposite portions of shaft 43 and prevent axial movement of said shaft with respect to the bearings 42. A gear 45 is mounted upon shaft 43 and when the bar 35 is in locked position upon the plates 31 and 33, gear 45 meshes with gear 5. A secondary printing roll 46 is mounted upon shaft 43 and is carried between bearings 42, said printing roll being adapted to carry a printing plate 47 upon its surface.

The arrangement is such that when bar 35 is in its locked position upon plates 31 and 33 and gear 45 meshes with gear 5, printing roll 46 is disposed in such position that the printing plate 47 carried upon said roll will contact an envelope blank 16 carried upon the cylindrical portion 11 of roll 9.

A bar 48 is mounted upon the upper portions of arms 41 and extends in spaced parallel relationship to, and above, bar 35. The bar 48 is secured to the arms 41 by means of screws 49 or the like. Bar 48 supports an opposite pair of frame plates 50 which carry an inking mechanism 51, which will be hereinafter more fully described. Screws 49 have relatively enlarged heads 52 and said screws pass through slots 53 provided in bar 48 whereby said bar may be moved laterally with respect to bar 35. The end portions of arms 41, on the opposite side of bar 35 from roll 46, each carry upwardly extending spaced lugs 54 providing a slot 55 between each pair of lugs. A screw 56 is threaded into bar 48 adjacent each slot 55, said screw having an enlarged head 57 which, in turn, is provided with an annular groove 58, whereby the screw head is of restricted diameter, as shown best at 59 in Fig. 1. The restricted portion 59 of the head 57 engages in slot 55 and a spaced portion 60 of the head engages in slot 61 provided in each arm 41.

The arrangement is such that bar 48 carrying frame 50, which in turn, carries the inking mechanism 51 may be adjustably moved by screws 56 so as to properly associalte4the inking mechanism with the secondary printing r01 6.

The inking mechanism 51 comprises an ink fountain 64, the fountain 62 being adapted to carry a body of ink 65 which is different in color from the ink 22 carried. by the fountain 19. A distributing roll 66 is positioned ad" jacent the fountain roll 63 and in surface contact therewith. A transfer roll 67 is mounted upon a shaft 63 which is carried at the end portions of a pair of spaced arms 69, the opposite ends of said arms being carried upon shaft 70 which is mounted upon the. frame plates 56. An axially reciprocating distributing roll 71 is positioned adjacent the transfer roll 67 and the surface of roll '71 is in tangent relationship with a form roll 72. The form roll is disposed adjacent the secondary printing roll 46 and isadapted to make tangential contact with plate 47 carried upon said printing roll.

The arrangement is such that ink 65 from fountain 62' is transferred to the surface of fountain roll 63 which in turn transfers the ink to the surface of distributing roll 66. Transfer roll 67 is adapted to oscillate between the positions shown in full lines and broken lines whereby ink carried upon the surface of roll 66 is transferred to the surface of roll 67 when the latter roll occupies the position shown in dotted lines and said ink is transferred to the surface of the distributing roll 71 when the transfer roll 67 moves into the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1. The ink carried upon the surface of the oscillating distributing roll '71 is transferred to the surface of form roll 72 whereby plate 47 of printing roll 46 is properly inked.

The inking mechanism 51 is conventional and per so does not comprise a portion of the present invention.

As a feature of the present invention the effective radius of roll 7, that is, the radius measured from the outer surface of the printing plate 8 to the center of shaft 4, is equal to the effective radius of roll 9, that is, the radius measured from the outer surface of the envelope blank 16 carried upon the cylinder portion ,11 of roll 9 to the center of shaft 3. Rolls 7 and 9 rotate at equal angular velocities by virtue of the inter-engagement of gears 5 and 6 whose pitch diameters are equal. Hence, the peripheral speed of plate 8 when it contacts blank 16 is equal and the primary printing operation is carried out when the surface of plate 8 contacts the blank 16 while it is carried upon the cylindrical portion 11 of roll 9.

The effective radius of the printing roll 46, that is, the radius measured from the outer surface of plate 47 to the center of shaft 43 is one-half the effective radius of roll 7 and hence one-half the effective radius of roll 9. The pitch diameter of gear 45 is also one-half the pitch diameter of gear 6 and also one-half of the pitch diameter of gear 5. Hence, when bar 35 is locked upon frame plates 31 and 33 and gear 45 is brought into mesh with gear 5, the angular velocity of the secondary printing 46 is twice that of roll 9. However, the surface speed of the outer surface of plate 47 is equal to the surface speed of blank 16 carried upon the cylindrical portion 11 of roll 9 when said cylindrical portion moves into substantially tangential relationship with the printing plate 47. It will be noted that roll 46 makes two revolutions for each revolution of roll 9. However, roll 9 is a mutilated roll and hence plate 47, when roll 46 makes one revolution, moves into printing contact with blank 16 when it is carried upon the cylindrical portion 11 of roll 9. However, when roll 46 makes its second revolution and plate 47 comes into substantially tangential relationship with the trace of roll 9, the timing is such that the broken-away portion of roll 9 is presented to tllie plate 47 and consequently no printing operation takes p ace.

By virtue of the fact that roll 46 moves at twice the angular speed of roll 9 and that its effective surface speed is equal to the effective surface speed of roll 9, the roll 46 is of relatively smaller diameter and hence may be positioned closely adjacent the nip between rolls 7 and. 9. In this fashion a great saving of space is effectd. a d a great saving is efieeted in the weight and bulk of the auxiliary printing mechanism comprising the roll 46 and its accompanying inking mechanism 51. The arrangement is such that the entire auxiliary mechanism comprising the roll 46 and the inking mechanism 51 may be mounted upon the single bar 35 which, as has been hereinbefore described, may be swung away from roll 9 by swinging the bar 35 about the pivot 36. In this fashion the auxiliary printing mechanism may be employed with the conventional envelope printing mechanism to accomplish multicolored printing when such type of printing is desired. Yet, when it is desired to use the primary basic envelope printing mechanism to accomplish mono-colored printing, the auxiliary printing mechanism comprising roll 46 and inking mechanism 51 may be swung to an inoperative position as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. When the auxiliary printing mechanism is swung to this position, the basic primary envelope printing device may function in its normal mono-colored intended manner.

Another advantage in the present invention resides in the swingable mounting of the auxiliary printing mechanism comprising roll 46 and the inking mechanism 51 which permits ready access to the surface of the printing roll 46 whereby the plate 47 may be conveniently changed or repositioned upon the surface of the secondary or auxiliary printing roll 46. The operation of replacing or repositioning the printing plate 47 can be carried out while the auxiliary printing mechanism is swung to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

A pair of arms 73 are loosely mounted upon shaft 43 and said arms carry between them a roller 74. A rod 75 is secured to each of the arms 73, said rods at their opposite ends being slidably positioned in sleeves 76 which are secured to arms 41. A coil spring 77 embraces each rod 75 whereby roller 74 is normally urged in a clockwise direction about shaft 43, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 3. The function of roller 74 is to resiliently bear upon the cylindrical portion 11 and also upon the envelope blank 16 during the period that the plate 47 carried by the auxiliary printing roll 46 makes printing contact with the envelope blank.

After the envelope blanks have been printed, as has been hereinbefore described, said blanks may be discharged to any suitable receptacle or conveyor. The conveyor, for instance, may comprise a belt conveyor 78 which may be trained around opposite rolls 79, only one of which is illustrated. The conveyor 78 may discharge the printed envelopes to a suitable receptacle (not shown).

I claim as my invention:

1. In an envelope printing machine having a frame provided with spaced side frame members, a printing roll and a juxtaposed make-up roll carried upon said frame, said latter roll having a cut-away portion and a segmental cylindrical portion, means carried by said rolls for rotating said rolls in timed relationship to each other whereby an envelope blank passed between said rolls is printed upon in a predetermined color, an attachment therefor for printing said envelope blank in an additional different color, said attachment comprising spaced frame plates each aflixed to one of said side frame members, a horizontally disposed supporting member bridging said end plates with one end of said member pivotally mounted upon one of said end plates for swinging movement about a vertical axis and in a plane substantially parallel to the axis of said rolls, a pair of arms mounted in spaced relation upon said supporting member with an end of each arm having a bearing, a shaft journalled adjacent its ends in said bearings, a secondary printing roll mounted upon said shaft and carrying a printing plate with said last mentioned roll of substantially half the effective diameter of the make-up roll carried upon said frame, driving means carried by said secondary printing roll for engagement With the make-up roll rotating means for driving said secondary printing roll at substantially the same surface speed and substantially half the angular speed as that of the make-up roll, means for locking the other end of said supporting member upon one of said side frame members to position said driving means in engagement with the rotating means of said make-up roll and to dispose said secondary printing roll at alternate revolutions in printing relationship with the segmental cylindrical portion of said make-up roll, a supporting bar carried by and bridging said arms above and in space-d parallel relation with said supporting member, frame members carried by said supporting bar, inking means for said secondary printing roll carried by said frame: members and adjustable with said supporting bar, and adjusting screws for adjusting said supporting bar and said inking means relative to said secondary printing roll to ink said latter roll.

2. In an envelope printing machine having a frame provided with side frame members, a make-up roll and a vertically juxtaposed main printing roll carried by said frame, said make-up roll having a cut-away portion and a segmental cylindrical portion, means carried by said rolls for rotating said rolls in timed relationship to each other whereby an envelope blank passed between said rolls is printed upon in a predetermined color, and attachment therefor for optionally printing said envelope blank in an additional different color, said attachment comprising spaced supporting end plates each mounted upon one of said side frame members, a supporting member pivotally mounted upon a vertical axis upon one of said plates and being swingable in a substantially horizontal plane, spaced arms projecting from and each mounted adjacent one end upon said supporting member, a secondary printing roll of substantially half the effective diameter of the makeup roll rotatably mounted in the other end of said arms and swingable therewith and with said supporting member into printing contact with the make-up roll and the main printing roll, rotating means carried by said secondary printing roll for engagement with the make-up roll rotating means for driving said secondary printing roll at substantially the same surface speed as that of the makeup roll when the secondary printing roll is in printing contact with the make-up roll, means for locking said supporting member upon said end plates to position the respective rotating means of the make-up roll and secondary printing roll in driving engagement, said supporting member being swingable to move said secondary printing roll therewith away from said main printing roll and said make-up roll, a supporting bar carried by and bridging said arms above said supporting member, inking means for said secondary printing roll carried by and adjustable with said supporting bar, and means for adjusting the position of said supporting bar and said inking means relative to said secondary printing roll to ink said latter roll.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 888,231 Von Eulenfeld May 19, 1908 1,164,212 Reifsnyder et al. Dec. 14, 1915 1,329,325 Mascord Jan. 27, 1920 1,436,653 Green Nov. 28, 1922 1,683,133 Halliwell Sept. 4, 1928 2,008,358 Krell July 16, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent N0 2,896,536 July 28, 1959 Ernst Co Sauerman It is hereby certified that error appears in the-printed specificatiou of the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letter: Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 2, line 65, for "compromises" read m comprises column 4, line 36, for "cylinder" read cylindrical column 6, line 30, for "and" read an Signed and sealed (1111515 1711 day of December 1959,,

(SEAL) Attest:

KARL H. AXLINE ROBERT C. WATSOD Attesting Officer Commissioner of Paten 

